[PP - F5] Old & New Memories, Rewards (Opal)

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

"I hate sand"....muttered a certain blonde figure enshrouded in a gray cloak. On the back there was the bluebird wings of a almost forgotten guild in which ironically enough she was still a member. But there was a almost invisible change it, two threads that were invisible to the untrained eye crossed the logo in a X shape. This was a futile attempt to get distance from the guild but in the same time, the blonde figure couldn't abandon her beliefs that were in harmony with the guild's creed. But nonetheless she was here for another reason than to dwell in the past, she could do such things in the comfort of her own little cozy cottage/log house below this floor, in the snowy wonderland and even while sipping from a cup of hot cocoa.

But why was she here... in this sand inferno where she would avoid by all means, unless something important was here. Last time, she came here on a whim, or better said a gut feeling or instinct. It proved out to be one of her most cherished memories, the time she first meet the low level couple formed by Teayre and Calrex... She lets a sigh to see that now, both of them were much stronger than her. Even then she sensed potential in the two and after a while managed to recruit them for the most elitist guild of all. That wasn't the best of memories but was a necessary step into forming the people they were now...all three of them.  

But she was falling down memory lane once again and shook her head before lightly slapping her cheeks. At her side, a white furred lion with three black stripes was expressing complaint towards their current location. Each time the wind blew, even lightly, her fur would get sand in it giving the naturally white color... a golden tinge. "Like the last time, just bear with it. Its not like I like this floor in particular you see. We aren't here for fun!" said the blonde as she too was visibly irritated by the sand. "She'll be here any second." she said as she remembered the first time she had meet Opal in her shop... with her witch-like outfit.

Edited November 14, 2015 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Opal 0]

White and red fluttered around her as Opal ascended upon a sandy brown trail in the city of Armadillo. The directions were pretty simple to make out, this was her third or fourth adventure to this floor, perhaps fifth now that she realized where her weapons had been birthed. Flicking the black curtain of hair with delicately painted fingernail tips, the Alchemist set forth towards the only blonde in town setting eyes out forward into the sandy abyss. Her feline companion at the ready beside the Crowned Lion, she felt a bit embarrassed for how she acted the last time they had met and even more so amongst a crowd in a tournament. Hot amber eyes shot back in glance as she pushed the thoghts to the back of her mind, she would not show the same weakness here or at least she had hoped not to. 

Droplets of beading sweat curved around the tan flesh that made up Opal's digital bones as she presented herself without the capelet around her shoulders. It was too hot and unbearable to wear so much on this floor, despite having the Survival Skill, it was still a much mind over matter display. Standing beside her and turning to the blonde, Opal offered a smile taking notice of the lightly stitched embroidery over the gray cloak. It would have been nearly invisible save for the never ending blast of the hot sun raining down on them and lighting this floor up with a brilliant yet heated display. 

"Hello Ariel, I hope I didn't leave you two waiting too long. Kimba, always a pleasure." Opal offered respect to the prideful lion as she bowed generously to the familiar before taking sight back towards the equally busty blonde. Opal still couldn't figure out who had the bigger cleavage...but that was a thought for another time entirely. Clearing her throat of the dryness, Opal once more curved her ruby red lips, "We should loiter on this floor for too long. I have come here to train so I am somewhat acclimated to the place, but this sand is coarse and this sun is too bright for my taste. Do you have water on you? I brought some with us just in case we get thirsty on the way. Vice Commander Azide was pretty thankful the last time we were on this floor together. Whatever it is we need to do though, it should not prove to be a difficult task for us."   

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

From afar, the first one to see the shadowy figure was Kimba that growled to get Ariel's attention. Then as the figure drew closer, she would recognize it as well firstly by the white and red attire despite there missing a top part of it. As she drew closer, Ariel would pick up on the details of the girl state.... recently painted fingernails and well maintained long ebony hair. It made her feel a bit jealous as she would 'dress' like that only for formal balls before and after tournaments... but she almost never did it in SAO except for the ST. Valentine's Day and Zel's formal party. That part of her 'feminines' had been almost abandoned here in this death game, being replaced with a blood lust she wasn't fully consistent aware off.  

Last time they meet they dueled, it didn't have the most gracious end but Ariel's swordsmanship aesthetics had been perverted with functionality since she entered this game. Here, stats and formulas ruled over the final outcome, when IRL winning was just half of the fight, you had to show style while doing it...Or at least that was how she'd been trained by her father.

Kimba, pleased with being given attention went in a sitting position and did a very cat-like forward motion with her paw, beckoning/greeting Opal as well, like one of those Japanese good luck dolls. She would rarely show this type of greeting.... to only 2 or three other people if Ariel remembers right. She'd managed to determine that particular motion was Kimba's formal greeting, instead of simply growling or brushing her whiskers and head against the feet.

"You are just in time. You seem to have gotten used to the outfit." replied the blonde with a smile as she though she saw her doing some sort of comparison."Yeah, she for one hates this places because the sand restricts her movements while I can't stand the heat." at that point Kimba growled in agreement with her statement and shook the sand off her. The blonde continued: "Actually I haven't... we went out in a rush, you know finishing the quest faster and getting back to our shop." At the word of Azide's tittle in the red and white guild she let a chuckle... "Vice Commander, that was why he wanted white formal dress with red... a 'knight-like' outfit. That means you already did killed the butcher, its goo to be the one lead by an experienced one for a change" she said with a smile, as she recently only partied with others that not had taken quests she did or all members were going for the first time. " We should head towards the place but before that... " she cut her words. While talking she discreetly drew closer to Opal and in that moment leans on and takes her lips onto her own. The thought 'I can't believe I'm doing this' crossed her mouth as she kissed the girl. She then breaks out and a light blush could be seen tinging her cheeks.

[Opal 0]

Opal stood and did a small pose to reflect the magnificent masterpiece that was made by Ariel herself, "It has been remarkable to wear and gives me pride to be part of such a prestigious guild to wear the colors openly. I only hope we soon have more members filling our ranks soon. It seems those who I have attempted to connect with do not see eye to eye with the guild's position, or a man whom they have never met. The mystery is part of the game too, but one day...All of Aincrad will know these symbols and these colors. Its only a matter of time before the Knights of the Blood are known to all." Opal talked of the name with such great pride in her voice, letting note a note of sweetness slip from her brave tongue as she made her small speech to address the guild and craftsmanship of the attire she wore. 

When Opal addressed Ariel if she had brought water, she nodded and smiled, "No worries then. I have enough to share for the three of us. Also, I have marked an Oasis on my map should we need a refill. The water is quite cool if I remember correctly. As I said, I came here to explore and to do some grinding. In my exploration..." Opal trailed off opening her menu and sending the map data to Ariel, a measly 20%, but it was a good start despite how boring and arid this region was. 

As she continued, "As you can see from the map, there is a small place there to replenish. In terms of food, I have yet to find anything so staying out in the desert and attempting to get some tan lines would probably not be the best of ideas. I have come across some sand wurms as well, giant mouthed creatures that fling their mouths at whatever is they want to devour. But they have proven to be sluggish in their movements..as far as I examined anyways." Opal wanted to give as much information as she could on this place to her and Kimba so that they both could prepare for whatever they may end up stepping on during their travels. Brushing a fingers through damp silken ebony, the woman flicked her hair from her eyes and placed her on her menu one more showing the ornate saya of the Masamune as it clattered in one hand. 

Opal nodded at Ariel as they seemed to be ready, but her words had faded despite the closing distance between the two of them. Ariel was coming closer and closer, Opal's eyes wide eyed and staring with warm honey as she felt a brush of flesh against her lips, what was this about? Arms at her side, still holding the ornate saya, Opal could only help but accept such an action remembering an earlier transaction fee for some potions. Ariel who seemed rather nervous about the whole ordeal flushed with red as did Opal herself, though she was more redded by the heat of the overhead sun. 

Not knowing what to say next, Opal blinked twice and cleared her throat, "Ugh...So! We really should get going, huh?" Mmm, if you want, I can lead the way for the two of us. If you get thirsty just let me know." The raven haired maiden was not expecting a kiss from the blonde, and while most times she would have flinched, coming from a woman it seemed less antagonistic. No flooding of men and their groping had crossed paths with her mind, as it was more of a simple peck on her lips than anything else. She could very well say, she enjoyed the closeness of another person for it was something she had longed for but was unable to proceed with. Men sickened her to the core due to past events...it was just difficult being labeled as 'Damaged Goods.' 

 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The words about the guild and the armor, location and all that passed through Ariel like the water under a bridge. She understood the words but not the combined meaning... she was more focused on what she just did... Of course she had kissed before...but never a girl, it felt normal but different in the same time. 'Is this how guys feel?' she asked herself in a unconscious attempt to divert her attention towards something else but seeing Opal's face going bright as her own. Seeing the girl's reaction Ariel straighten herself and gave a vague "Uhum" with a nod, as she started following her companion.

On the other side, Kimba who witnessed the whole scene from a impartial point of view tilted her head and let out a gentle roar. She could sense that something was going with the two but didn't knew what they were about. To her it looked similar to the action some of her kind did when they meet after a long time, rubbing their noses against each others..the so called Eskimo kiss as humans called it. She dashed towards Opal first and rubbed her wet nose against her leg, wanting to do it too. Ariel showed a smile as she watched the scene of a flustered girl being chased by a lion that was rubbing her nose against her.

'I hope she doesn't take it the wrong way, I am obliged to keep my promise even if it seemed a silly one at that time.' she thought, trying to push the blame of that particular action on her father's combined teaching between the Bushido code and European chivalry. She didn't want to admit that curiosity was a part of what motivated her to act so sudden like that, without even stating her intention....'stealing' a kiss from the honey eyed beauty.In a attempt to not fall in complete awkward silence, she engaged in light conversation asking in a somewhat timid voice compared to her usual self:

"You said you had 20% of the map data, I have some of my own....Here."...then with a couple of elegant moves she brought fourth her own data. She usually cared little for that but since Opal brought it up she send her the 47% she had gathered so far in her travels. There was a special marker not too far with the tittle 'T-chan's Hot Springs' the place where she heard for the first time about teayre and Cal's plans of marriage. There were also 2 different routes for <<The Traveler>> quest and one apparently random route from the encounter with the <<Sand Shark>>.

[Opal 0]

"Umph!" Opal felt the cold nose of Kimba, the prideful familiar as it seemed to nudge her leg for some attention. Opal smiled as she knelt down, her skirt billowing outwards from the dry wind and heat of the sun. Getting close to the creature, she brought both hands up to her face, "So you want a kiss too, huh? So adorable." Opal moved in and plopped a glazed kiss between the eyes of the creature before giving it a quick nose tap with her own. "You have a remarkable familiar, Ariel. I'm quite jealous you have such a companion with you on your journey's. It seems I spend much of my time alone these days. Working alone. Training alone...It is what it is though." she said shrugging her shoulders. 

After a brief lapse of silence, Ariel had brought up the attention of the map data. Getting a small ping, Opal swept across her menu and accepted the map data trade and analyzed it compared to her own. Black boxes slowly started to appear, "This is great. Thank you. I had no idea there was a hot spring...in the desert of all places. None the less, I suppose it might be interesting to check out in the future." Opal said with a ruby smile on her face. She looked back down and swept away the interface as she brought the saya over her shoulder once more and kept a vigilant eye on any mobs that might end up trying to catch the two off guard. Ariel was definitely the veteran here and much like Azide, she felt comfortable with her being here. There was always safety in numbers, even despite knowing that she traveled alone. It was just easier to deal with certain things. 

Keeping the complaining of the heat to a minimal, Opal wafted hot air against her body attempting to fan herself. Strong collection of beaded sweat collected over the natural curves of her body as they slid down the tanned exposed flesh. Raven haired was pulled back with a lithe hand as she raked her hair back from the amber eyes that kept watch over the horizon, she wasn't sure if she was to make more conversation or just keep going. What sort of person was Ariel after all? 

"I didn't want to bring up our duel here...but I thought it would be necessary, nothing like that will happen out here. I don't want you to think of me as some kind of burden or deadweight. I can carry my own..it's just that...the feeling of being paralyzed or stunned...sets off an odd reaction for me. I don't like not having control over my body or what I can do with it. I'm still working on some...mental challenges..." her voice trailed off...hopefully it didn't make things weird for the two of them. 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Yet again Kimba befriended another player and she was happy to get the attention from it. She started purring after Opal's actions and walked along her occasionally brushing against her legs. Ariel thought that she was beginning to be awfully familiar with the raven head almost at the same level she was with Teayre with whom she acted like....in human terms, the two were BFFS. The blonde laughed at the thought that Kimba was more socially active than her. Since Opal decided to give a little about herself, Ariel too decided to share... it was one of her hidden 'weaknesses' but she felt like there was no harm in telling it to her fellow traveler. She trusted her instincts and Kimba's as well.

"Yeah she's been with me for a while now... Still does what she pleases, the same way she did when we first meet in the 6th floor's jungle. Back then when I saw her, I reacted in a similar fashion to yours in our duel... but the reason is so stupid I can barely word it..." she hesitated for a second, feeling her cheeks getting tinged with red by shame but got the courage to continue: "You know when I heard Kimba purring for the first time.... I broke in tears and fended her away while entering a state of uncontrollable panic and fear. That is because I'm suffering of a condition pompously named Ailurophobia, which basically is an irrational fear of cats..felines in general." She then went by Kimba and patted her on the head. "At first I couldn't even touch her but this little furball insisted on sticking by my side no matter how I reacted and we came to this level of intimacy. Without her, I think I would be more broken than this, especially after most of my friends went missing and the guardians first disbanded..." her voice drifted off, she was remembering that time she spend at the tenth floor....which was the front line at the time. Just slaughtering mobs indiscriminately with a smile on her face but once again, having the furball by her side made her come back to the shop and interact more with players.

She shook her head to dismiss the merging memories of those time and unelegantly switched the subject getting embarrassed the more she talked about it. To not show it, she started walking a couple of steps in front of the two companions "In any case.... the hot spring location is a girl's secret. During daylight the place it's like a like boiling pot but during night, when temperatures go very..very low it's the perfect spot to relax your body. and relieve yourself of the mental fatigue." 

Feeling as she regained her normal composure, she went by their side once again and spoke to Opal, looking her in the eyes. "So don't worry about that, we all got our little issues. It's all water under the bridge, in fact if I thought about you like that I wouldn't have invited you to join me silly!" she said the last part in a extremely girlish manner then asked. So, how much do we have until we get there?"

[Opal 0]

Opal nodded to her friend, it was clear that not everyone here was perfect. There was always some sort of beautiful flaw that helped keep balance a person out. If you wanted to call it beautiful that is. But despite having that out on the open, Opal saw how well the two got along even if she did suffer from that phobia. It made Opal think if she too could one day conquer her own demons. It just made her legs weak thinking about those events over and over in her head, Opal had absentmindedly stared off into the horizon, those images seemed as fresh as yesterday. There was a sort of buzzing in her ear, and flashing before her eyes were those horrible images once more. A yell was hitched in her throat, but Opal snapped out of her nightmare daydream and focused back on the blinding sun and the unbearable heat outside. Quickly sweeping a hand across her access panel and materializing a bottle of water. Unscrewing the contents, she started to down half the bottle and gave a long exasperated sigh as the cool water flushed through her body. Flicking sweat with the back of her hand, Opal offered Ariel the rest of the liquid within, "Don't worry, I don't have cooties..You did kiss me after all...But it's good to see that you two are so comfortable with each other now. It's quite remarkable, despite it just being a fill of 0s and 1s, that this animal responds to you naturally. There is a strong bond between the two of you. It's good to have that companionship."

Opal shifted her massive saya over the other shoulder as she blocked golden brilliant rays of light from her eyes with one hand as Ariel mentioned the Hot Spring, "That makes all the more sense now. This desert can get just as chilly as floor four on some nights. I remember a certain occasion when I was ...well, that was a long time ago. A girl's secret, huh? Sounds nice. When I was with The Crimson Blades, I attempted to bond with Shirosu...but I dunno. Everyone I meet seems to be coming and going. I guess it didn't help matters any when I decided to leave everyone behind to train. Now I am pretty much alone...Perhaps it's just better that way..." Opal swiftly flicked a curtain of black from her eyes, although the quick snap of her wrist only gave her a brief moment of clarity over the desert before the ebony bangs once more unfurled over her right eye. 

The katana maiden laughed and nodded, "Thanks, Ariel. Much like Vice Commander Azide, I feel comfortable with you in my party. Mmm...We should be pretty close soon...Maybe another mile or two before we hit the speared arena encampment. If I get the chance, since you have the higher damage output, I'll go ahead and take first strike with a stunning art. This way you can preserve your energy for your high end techniques. We shouldn't have any difficulty with the Boss, but I rather play it safe than sorry. Isn't that right, Kimba?" 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The blonde took the bottle with a small 'Thanks' and gulped down one third of its content and replied "There are no illnesses in SAO" with a smile and continued: "...and that was, me keeping my promise I made when we first meet" She made a bit of exaggerated gesture with her hands to put her body into evidence: "I did came back alive from that fight afterall." She continued to listen to Opal with a smile until she heard her refer to Kimba as it, she showed a displeased expression for a second then let out a sigh. That's true, familiars weren't living things but entities generated by the Cardinal system that ruled over Aincrad but Ariel didn't like to think about it like that... or better said, she'd avoided it with all cost. Next making a mischievous smile, she looked at the bottle and then at Kimba. She tried to splash the lion to cool her down a bit but apparently Kimba sensed her intention and evaded with ease, the water spraying in Opal's direction. The blonde laughed while Kimba growled at her. "Gomen gomen"...she said with a smile towards the raven haired girl as a translation bubble showed. it wasn't all that truthful of an apology as she predicted that her feline companion would use her innate animal instincts to evade her as she always did and made it that she 'accidentally' sprayed the water over Opal. She didn't like the mood the girl was having and her talk about being alone.

"The Crimson Blades... they came out with a bang and have seemed to die out. Well I only knew a couple of members including that over confident ginger leader that thought of himself as the strongest DPS in Aincrad. He was a funny fellow." she stated with a smile and continued: " 'Commander' Azide heh, will need some time to get used to it. I've known him ever since he founded Square One... A more successful version of the Crimson Blades that actually helped newbies." she nodded to her last words and spoke, her tone gaining a bit more of seriousness: "Sounds like a solid plan, I don't have any powerful stunning sword arts so I'll be counting on you."

The white furred lion who had read her companion's intention decided to let her go for now and brushed her face against Opal in an attempt to dry her and replied with a powerful roar when asked. 

[Opal 0]

There was mischief brewing over to Opal's side, she didn't know what was going to happen, but her spidey senses were tingling. The next moment she saw Kimba dart away from Ariel's attempted splash technique. Opal let out a small cry as the cold water splashed her a bit only to be followed up by a word she used herself when she did something wrong in training with Master Myoga. Laughing and shaking her head, ruby red lips pinched into a wide smile showing perfect pearl of white teeth to her blonde friend pointed her finger at her, "You, I will get you later for this...Ya know, there are other ways of getting me w..." Opal stopped to flick sweat and water off armor and continued to tease Ariel that she would get her back for that little misdeed. Fingers sprawled out as she shifted her hair with those lithe digits and moved the ebony hair from her amber eyes. The little splash had alleviated symptoms of ill content in her mind that had been pestering the woman for a while. 

She decided from this next step forward in this hot and sweaty abysmal place, she would make her best effort to show Ariel a sort of Opal that she had recently thought die out. Getting back to her roots was tough with the darkness that had swallowed her soul in the process and after being tortured for a week and having her body ravaged by men, it was even harder still to break such a hard shell she has created for herself. But there was light in darkness, a light in Ariel and she was making efforts and strides to help her see it...even if she didn't mean to do so. Smiling back to Ariel, Opal nodded. 

"Quite the player he was, he did have good intentions though and he gave me a place to call home with the Blades when I needed it. If not for Mack, I perhaps would never have been able to prove to myself that I can be strong enough player on my own. I respect him as a Guild Master. I wish I could see him again to say 'thank you,' properly. But yes, I think Vice Commander Azide mentioned little of Square One, he doesn't seem to muddle in the past a lot. And I don't like stirring up old memories for people. I always attempt to look forward, and never back."

With their plan drawn out, Opal sighed from the heat that over powered them still in this dry arid desert. Amber eyes were setting out over the horizon as she brought up her map to see if they were close to the location of the speared arena, "Just a little further and we'll be there...That little incident though from before, I could really use a dip in that hot spring, or even the Oasis I have mapped out. Maybe when life isn't so hectic, we can get a little party started up and have a girl's night out or something."  

Opal nearly jumped out of her skin when the lion had gave off a powerful roar only moments after feeling her soft fur brush against her skin in attempt to clean the spilled water from her legs. Smiling and giving Kimba a soft pat on the head, they had continued their journey through this sickly place. 

Edited November 20, 2015 by Opal

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Taking the little 'threat' in with a smile. "I know what you mean... it was kind of the same with me and Lessa, my guildmaster. I barely qualified as a noob when she took me into the Guardians and showed me the basics of this game. Despite having IRL sword training, this place put restrictions on my abilities overall." she said while clenching and unclenching her right hand. "But that's been taken care of for a while, since I mastered the rapier in game as well" it was a day of celebration when she finally broke free from the system's restrictions. Now she had to use all the stuff she could get to improve her virtual condition overall, like with the <<Acrobatics>> passive that allow her do jump from high places and do olympic level gymnastics without breaking a sweat.

"I could tell you about Square One if you wanna. I was with them when they first formed, if I didn't belonged to the guardians I might've been with them. Well my shop made a exclusive-ish contract with them so I was part of major stuff, guild-wise" The memory from the camping trip crossed her mind and also the first bandit clearing she'd done with some of the council members. Thinking of it, Azide was one of her only 'old' regular clients, ever since she opened shop. She should give him a special discount sometime.

"I'm all in for that plan." she replied with excitement. "Might get Teayre and Zandra on board too." she added, thinking at the relaxing sensation and the fun she had last time. By now, the blonde could see the distant figure of something big in front of them. Was it the arena... or just Fata Morgana playing tricks on her, again?

[Opal 0]

OOC: I'll go ahead and summon the boss and start us off! :)

Opal nodded towards Ariel with a smirk, it would be nice to hang out with some of the higher leveled women of the game. Of course Opal didn't think highly of herself, well...she did, but she still thought she was leagues apart from the others such as Ariel and Teayre, each one representing mastery over their weapons. Opal gave a shallow sigh from the heat as Ariel pointed out what appeared to be a figure in the horizon. Amber eyes had burned to catch a glimpse of the figure and soon enough as they continued their dusty trek, the spear rigged arena had come to view and the mammoth looking Reptile had come into view. Honey eyes glanced over at Ariel to make sure they were properly ready to take on this overgrown Lizard. His massive two bladed weapon seemed to spin in his green scaly hands as his sharp eyes glanced over at the two proceeding towards his arena. Giving a snapping like growl from his mighty maw, he wasted no time on the initiation of the battle. Blowing past Opal he attempted to raise his mighty blade and crack Ariel's skull. I'll leave the dodge up to you. 

The blonde had played the part of the distraction as Opal was able to get around the massive beast who seemed to his red eyes on the Rapier User. Sweeping her long Masamune side to side, ivory and silver coated the blade as it pulsated with life. Opal <<Charged>> in towards Sando's backside and caught him off guard completely, buzzing with power the blade swept horizontally along his back, causing a massive orange gash to appear over his leathery hide and cutting through his armor. Inverting the blade, Opal carried herself to melee distance and thrust a five finger death punch into his spin. His massive jaw dropped open with from the impact of the blow as it sent a bellowing war cry before it was stunned. Twisting the hilt in her hands and claiming both hands upon it, she thrust the blade into it's backside to carve another line upon its flesh ending her attack sequence. 

"Stunned, just as planned. We should have no problem taking him down now!" 

<<Battle Engaged>> Aggro Table: LD: 1-10: Fights Opal || LD: 11-20: Fights Ariel

Opals HP: 116/116
EN: 20/29
Sword Art: Ra Setsu [Stun], 9 Energy, 66 Dmg -20 Mit = 46 Dmg

Ariels HP: 145/145
EN: 36/36

Sando Satsu: 304/350 || 20 Mit || 40 Dmg [Stunned After Failed Attempt to attack Ariel]
Notes:  Sando Satsu ignores Block, Evasion, and Mitigation. But does not do bonus damage on a 9-10
-Cull of the Meek: On a natural roll of 10 he will spin with his weapon at maximum reach hitting everyone in the fight. He will gain 4 hp per person hit.
-Dominus: When he reaches 70 hp, he grows massive in size upping his damage to 50 and mitigation to 30 for the rest of the fight.

ID: 39591
BD: 10+2= [+2 Dmg]
MD: 5 [Miss]
LD: 17 [Ariel is Target- Missed Attack]

 

Edited November 21, 2015 by Opal

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

It seemed like her eyes didn't betray her. They had indeed reached their destination, the makeshift arena made from spears. She nodded in return to Opal as they entered it and meet their opponent. For some reason as soon as it laid eyes on them, the massive lizard man dashed towards Ariel. Luckily she'd kept her eyes on it and made a couple of step to the left, evading his blow then with a pirouette she elegantly unsheathed her rapier and came right at the mob's back after Opal had stunned it with her sword art.

"The blade shone a Dark blue light, signaling the use of a high tier sword art as Ariel began to stab and slash amidst various showy spins and twirls. With a total combo count of 13 hits all of them had left a red wound mark on the mob's back as it was unable to even attempt to evade or parry. Once she had completed her sword art, the blonde backed of a bit and spoke: "Is it me or does this guy have something with or for blonds in general?" the joy of her tone could be heard as well as the smile on her face showed no restraint. She did what she knew best, which was killing mobs. As she was now, in her self entitled 'Battle Mode' , she would stop for nothing before this mob would show its pixelated death in front of her.

<<Battle Engaged>> Aggro Table: LD: 1-10: Fights Opal || LD: 11-20: Fights Ariel

Opals HP: 116/116
EN: 20/29

Ariels HP: 145/145
EN: 23/36
Sword Art: (13)Over Radiation - 13x1*(10+4) , 13 Energy, 182 Dmg -20 Mit = 162 Dmg

Sando Satsu: 142/350 || 20 Mit || 40 Dmg [Stunned After Failed Attempt to attack Ariel]
Notes:  Sando Satsu ignores Block, Evasion, and Mitigation. But does not do bonus damage on a 9-10
-Cull of the Meek: On a natural roll of 10 he will spin with his weapon at maximum reach hitting everyone in the fight. He will gain 4 hp per person hit.
-Dominus: When he reaches 70 hp, he grows massive in size upping his damage to 50 and mitigation to 30 for the rest of the fight.

ID: 39602
BD: 6+2=8

*tell me if the mob attacks after each of us or after the two of us.

Edited November 22, 2015 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Opal 0]

OOC: It will be stunned until my next post since I had it attack first. :) Should clean this up in a post or two. 

Sano Satsu, the Lizard Combatant of his Spear Arena, the rules of the sands...had been decrowned by the two female warriors. With its guard down and stunned from Opal's last attack, it had no choice but give into their overwhelming presence as they showered it with damaging arts. "Well, I can safely say, after the initial attack last time, this thing didn't get a chance to attack last time. Vice Commander Azide was able to sweep it into oblivion with his dagger arts. As I said, we have nothing to worry about now." 

Taking a step forward as her blade once more a brilliant glow of ivory and silver, she took a side stance and readied her blade from the side. Both hands on the hilt as it powered up to its maximum glow, Opal slid the blade across the back of the Sando Satsu and gave it a long orange gash to trace over the blots of red stricken by Ariel's rapier. The monster unable to do much but take the brunt of their attacks continued to stand with its back turned to them. 

"Kinda pitiful...One more sword art and this thing is dead in the wind. All yours, Ariel." Opal took a step back and thrust her blade to the side as the sword art power dissipated from her Masamune. The elegant blade inverted behind her back as she held it away from the battle as Ariel was about to make her next attack. Amber eyes sought the Crowned Lion, she enjoyed battling side by side by another veteran of this world. She had much to learn, but it almost seemed the blonde revelled at the sight of battle. 

<<Battle Engaged>> Aggro Table: LD: 1-10: Fights Opal || LD: 11-20: Fights Ariel

Opals HP: 116/116
EN: 14/29 [+1 EN Regen]
Sword Art: Zekkai, 7 EN, 56 Dmg-20Mit= 36 Dmg

Ariels HP: 145/145
EN: 27/36
Sword Art: 

Sando Satsu: 106/350 || 20 Mit || 40 Dmg [Stunned]
Notes:  Sando Satsu ignores Block, Evasion, and Mitigation. But does not do bonus damage on a 9-10
-Cull of the Meek: On a natural roll of 10 he will spin with his weapon at maximum reach hitting everyone in the fight. He will gain 4 hp per person hit.
-Dominus: When he reaches 70 hp, he grows massive in size upping his damage to 50 and mitigation to 30 for the rest of the fight.

ID: 39614
BD: 4+2= 6 
MD: -Stunned-
 

Edited November 21, 2015 by Opal

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Looking at Opal she couldn't help but to let out a subdued chuckle..."Yeah, I hate to admit it but that dagger art overpowers my rapier's by just a bit...." she watched Opal as she dealt another blow to the overgrown bipedal lizard. "Believe it or not he used to wield a rapier as well... switched to dagger just a while ago" Again, she saw a beautiful display of skill with a weapon she familiar with just its basics, despite having a traditional dojo back home. That building was reserved for fencing training with her father....  after she choose to walk in his footsteps over the traditional katana.

She shook her head, banishing this kind of reveries as she saw Opal leave the last hit to her and sheathed her weapon. 'What is she doing?' she asked herself as she readied her own rapier to dash towards the mob. Her overall speed was significantly less as the charge sword skill wasn't there but she had used the same sword art as before.... 13 consecutive slashes and stabs covered the mob's body from above as she jumped and activated the skill mid-air. She'd reach a total overall combo of 26 hits in this fight and as she finished dealing the last slash to its calf, the giant lizard exploded into polygons after letting out a pitiful hiss in a last attempt to strike her... It goes without saying that Ariel used her feline-like agility and easily evaded the blow.

She turned around and made a side slash as if cleaning the blade from any residue blood. She let out a sigh as she'd remember from whom she'd picked up this habit, even though blood splatters were non-existent here...only blood-like pixel imitation. During this second assault she'd let go of all 'mental' restriction and showed ferocity towards her prey like a mighty lion going after a deer. A bloodthirsty smile keep lingering on her facial expression as her eyes sought another prey to kill. "weakling..." she muttered while slowly and elegantly sheathing her blade in its leather scabbard until a fable 'clink' sound could be hear. 

She turned towards Opal....only now aware of the fact that she let free her inner bloodlust... the blonde couldn't say anything, just looked at her raven head companion with a sad and reluctant expression. She wanted to get some sort of explanation in the silence gap but couldn't, what was there to explain? her action spoke more clearly than anything she could mutter in her defense, so she awaited her reaction to all that.

<Battle Engaged>> Aggro Table: LD: 1-10: Fights Opal || LD: 11-20: Fights Ariel

Opals HP: 116/116
EN: 14/29
Sword Art: 

Ariels HP: 145/145
EN: 11/36  [+1 EN Regen]
Sword Art:  (13)Over Radiation - 13x1*(10) , 13 Energy, 130 Dmg -20 Mit = 110 Dmg

Sando Satsu: -4/350 || 20 Mit || 40 Dmg 
Notes:  Sando Satsu ignores Block, Evasion, and Mitigation. But does not do bonus damage on a 9-10
-Cull of the Meek: On a natural roll of 10 he will spin with his weapon at maximum reach hitting everyone in the fight. He will gain 4 hp per person hit.
-Dominus: When he reaches 70 hp, he grows massive in size upping his damage to 50 and mitigation to 30 for the rest of the fight.

ID: 39707
BD: 4+2= 6  
MD: 3 (6-3)

 

Edited November 22, 2015 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Opal 0]

"Yay! We killed it! Well, you killed it. I did help a little, yeah?" Opal teased with the blonde, "But I have to say, that Rapier style is pretty rad. You showed absolutely no remorse for killing that thing dead. Too bad it didn't have some friends or we could have had a nice party going on." The raven haired maiden flipped tendrils of short black hair from her honey colored eyes as she hefted her rather large sword over her shoulder and turned her body back around to where they had come from and then back at Ariel, "Hey, you alright? You look a little sad there. I know...we just finished the quest...and you wanna spend more time with me. It is quite indeed a bitter sweet experience. But we got a whole desert to walk back from...yay...sand." Opal lifted one hand in a mock sarcastic tone for the cheering of sand.  

"With the quest complete, I guess we have nothing more to do here than to just walk back to Armadillo and get the [censored] out of this sun. I hope I have proved some worth to you as a companion on your quest. I know I am not the strongest woman in Aincrad, but I believe I can handle my own pretty well. And with a partner like you, I can still learn a lot. I mean Master Myoga was a great teacher and all, but there is more I can learn from out of his experience passed onto me. But we shouldn't dally around here much longer. The sun..." 

Opal fanned her body, the hot streaks of beaded sweat running down the curves of her body as she sighed and looked towards the dry heat of the desert horizon attempted to blink away the the fuzz from her eyes form the burning sun above them. Those golden rays had created sweat around the edges of her scalp, her dark bangs had become damp from the sweat as she attempted to push back the hair from her eyes only to have them revert back to their original station. 

"Mmm...a nice cold shower, a brewski and a cigarette sounds like a sound plan once I return to the Inn in Snowfrost. Do you have any plans after this, Ariel?" Opal asked, her feet mucking through the sand as she by passed a trio of spears from the makeshift arena they had just slain the Sano Satsu in. Between the two of them, there was nothing it could do but fall before their feet. 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Apparently, the honey eyed girl seemed oblivious to her display of bloodlust just now. She even praised the blonde for acting like that, she didn't knew if she was deliberately doing it or not but was glad it happened. "Well it's nothing more more than coding" she said indifferent, yes that was the 'loophole' she found in her teachings to allow herself to act in such a way. "yeah that's the reason... yey sand!!"she said with a smile imitating the raven head. She quite enjoyed her company, it was a similar sensation as the times she'd spend with her old friends, Oikawa...Tyger & Baldur, Azide and some more.... even that troublemaker X. Too bad more than half of them went off grid for a while, leaving a hole in Ariel's heart that began filling with something else.

"This place is just off for me, take me at the 4th place with even less clothing than now and I would feel even more comfortable there than here." she said jokingly and continued in a more serious tone: "You don't need to prove your worth to me, or anyone for that matter. 'Have pride in your swordsmanship and don't stray from the teachings' that is what my father told me often, I'm sure your master taught you similar things. And for your information I also ain't 'the strongest woman in Aincrad' so we have something else in common, girl." Emulating her partner, the blonde started fanning herself as well, her eyes involuntarily slipping towards Opal's curves from time to time.

"Hai (yes)! This sun... at least I get to see you all hot and sweaty for the trip back." she said jokingly, then slightly tilting her head in wonder: "My agenda is clear I think, except for a few orders back at the shop... Brewski? what's that?" she asked while they were making their way back toward Armadillo.

Edited November 29, 2015 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Opal 0]

Opal laughed teasingly at Ariel as she echoed the effect of the fan much like the raven haired woman had done from the blaring sun energy that seemed to slowly bake them from the outside-in. Streaming trickles of sweat ran down the side of her face from the edges of her hair line as Opal swung back licorice black strands of her hair from the amber eyes that sought their destination. The horizon seemed to show nothing but sand, sand and sand as far as the eye can see as she had expected, only once in awhile passing by a cactus just to break up the scenery, "A brewski is a beer, woman. Alcohol. Which I am dying for a drink right now. Roll into a nice bar down in Urbus and probably drink the night away after a nice cold shower, get this [censored] sand off my skin and out of my hair," Opal had explained what the brewski term had meant, not sure if Ariel had been a drinker in her past life or not. Opal had seen her fair share of alcoholic beverages back and forth from this game and into the real world. Not to mention Piera's Moonshine which she had not be able to craft as perfectly on her own. Not that she ever wanted to go down that rabbit hole again, though it brought memories when things were not so difficult and not so complicated as things seemed to keep going down hill for her. It was just one thing after another for her, but the struggle would continue endlessly for her until this world had come to its end. 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

" Alcohol " she knew about that... but had little experience with it in real life as a professional fencer. Not to mention her father's training forbid more than a cup during meals... not that she had to listen to him but she was accustomed to not drinking. "yes yes, I'll try it once... but going out alone is kind of lame" she said with a bit of hesitation. speaking more of her irl experience rather than in SAO. The rather monotonous scenery of sand and green cactus changed after a while as a small mound could be seen in the distance. It was Armadillo, their destination after slaying the lizard man. The blonde welcomed it with a sigh, she enjoyed Opal's presence but knew that they had to part ways soon. She was really warming up to her. Noticing the slight slip in her speech, the blonde's mind went to the moment she meet her for the first time.

"I'm curious, what happened to that flirtatious witch I first meet a while back? " she asked Opal,genuinely interested in where this change in her came from.

[Opal 0]

Opal sighed seeing the small dusty sand domes ahead of them not too far out from her vision. Armadillo was now in sight which meant they were one step closer to getting out of this hellish heat. Opal swam fingers through her inky black hair as the sweat accumulation around her hairline had grown. Sweeping the strands backs to give her a temporary line of sight towards the city, the woman turned back to Ariel from her latest question. She nodded and almost laughed with a small shake of her head, "Ahh, that..." she began once more sweeping sweat off her brow and casually allowing her hand to drift off to the side once more as they walked.

"When you go through a sort of training like I had gone through, there are bits and pieces of yourself that you find that are less becoming than your other parts. I have traded flirt and promiscuity for steeled nerves and iron will to the code of Bushido. That sort of practice no longer adheres to my warrior's spirit, I have been told that nothing good comes from my flirting especially towards the wrong people. Therefore, I have spent a good two months honing my skills to my blade. That is why and how I quickly became a front liner as you see now. Still not as powerful as you are, but in such a short amount of time I have developed a strong sense of myself." Opal had indeed told the truth of what had transpired during her training, Master Myoga had done well in annihilating bits and pieces of her former life so that she could survive on her own if need be. Sometimes the path of the warrior was best one walked alone and Opal knew after the disappearing of a few friends and allies, she knew the best thing to do was to walk alone. Even now, even with new friends, the woman was left out to her own devices. Nobody stayed around long enough to see something through to the end which was unfortunate...That was just how things were.

"In short, that woman died a long, long time ago."